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#1
04-25-2016, 03:05 PM
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Question about drying wood for guitar braces
Hi everyone.
A question for the wood pros here. I recently had an old cottage torn down and realized some of the roof beams were solid sitka spruce which have been there (inside the house, not exposed to the elements) for at least 50 years,if not more. I will be making a few pieces of furniture, and some of the offcuts have straight grain, 4 inches thick and over 25 feet long. Not enough width to make tops, but definitely enough for a lifetime's worth of braces. I'm wondering how and how long I should let the wood "stabilize" in my shop before it is safe to use it on a build... Any thoughts? As I said, the beams were sawn over 50 years ago, and the cottage wasn't heated in the winters. Was humid in the summers, though. They weren't exposed to the elements. Thanks!! Last edited by PhilQ; 04-25-2016 at 07:10 PM. 
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#2
04-25-2016, 05:23 PM
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Basically you have to assess your wood, and any other wood, in exactly the same way. If there is any chance that there are cracks in it for any reason at all, it is a bad bet for instruments. If the wood appears to be free of crack in chunks big enough for your purposes, then make some cuts and see if you can make tops out of it. If you do get some crack free tops, be sure to seal their end grain immediately. Hidden cracks can be discovered by an experienced cutter because the properly dimension-ed top halves should ring with integrity when tapped as "we" know how to tap. Cracks impair this ringing.
Edited because apparently "woog" kept me from seeing "braces". It's the same story for the braces, but the tapping results are VERY hard to hear. Sitka bracewood is not very expensive. Last edited by Bruce Sexauer; 04-25-2016 at 05:54 PM.
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#3
04-25-2016, 07:17 PM
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Thanks for the reply, Bruce.
I agree that Sitka bracing is not expensive, but I figure why order it and have it shipped to me (not available here locally) if I have 30 foot beams with some sections cut on the quarter that were sawn half a decade ago right in front of me, and which were going to get sent to the paper mill otherwise...
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#4
04-26-2016, 05:28 AM
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If it were me, I'd simply cut the planks to length plus maybe six inches, wax the ends and sit them on a shelf. That wood has dried.
The only issue I see is whether newly cut lengths would exhibit twist or distortion from the release of tension. If that happens, you'll see it in a week or so, but I'd be surprised if well-quartered spruce starts to twist on you. Again, when you split one of the "billets" into sections for the bracing, let it acclimate for a day or so before working with it. It's the tension thing again; any internal confuzzlation should make itself known in short order. YMMV.
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Taylor 815C '59 Gibson LG2 Washburn J4 jazz box, ebony tailpiece Gold Tone open back banjo Anon. mountain dulcimer Creaky old Framus 5/1 50 About 1/2 of Guitar One completed; currently intimidating me on account of the neck geometry. Stacks of mahogany, spruce, maritime rosewood, western red cedar Expensive sawdust
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